Bill would OK Bible classes at public schools

Published: Thursday, February 28, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, February 27, 2013 at 7:19 p.m.

A state bill filed by a locally elected senator this week would sanction Bible study classes at public high schools.

Sen. Stan Bingham, R-Davidson, says people should carefully read the bill before screaming "church and state" separation. A civil rights organization says religious topics are best left to parents.

Bingham, a Denton resident, filed Senate Bill 138 on Tuesday. It would give school systems the option to offer courses in biblical studies to high school students.

The classes would be electives for credit in Hebrew scriptures (Old Testament), the New Testament or a combination of the two, according to the bill.

"Most people, just like myself, would think you wouldn't dare touch an issue like this, because it's going to create problems with separation of church and state," Bingham said. "That's not the issue, though, and that has nothing to do with this. This is educational, and it doesn't mandate anything. It's an elective."

Some taxpayer-supported schools in other states do allow religious courses, raising concerns among civil libertarians about the constitutional separation of church and state.

"These types of courses are notoriously difficult to teach in a constitutional manner, which often puts educators who want to teach them properly in a very problematic situation," Sarah Preston, American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina's policy director, said in a statement Wednesday. "Classes that teach the Bible have to be conducted in a way that does not promote or disparage religion, or alienate students with different beliefs. But because religious belief is such a personal issue, we believe it's a topic best left to the students' parents and not government bureaucrats or school officials."

The proposed elective courses must follow federal and state law in maintaining "religious neutrality" and accommodating diverse religious views, traditions and perspectives of the students in the class, according to the bill. In addition, teachers wouldn't be allowed to endorse, favor or promote, or disfavor or show hostility toward any particular religion, nonreligious faith or religious perspective, the bill said.

Courses would include knowledge of biblical content, characters, poetry and narratives that are "prerequisites to understanding contemporary society and culture, including literature, art, music, mores, oratories and public policies, among other things, according to the bill.

Rick Kriesky, superintendent of Lexington City Schools, said a school he worked at in Tennessee offered a social studies class that served as a survey course for religious studies.

"It was very well-received by the student body," Kriesky said. "It was not focused on teaching any specific denomination or sect of religion, but rather it was a broad course that was intended to allow students to get an understanding of different religions worldwide."

If the bill was approved, Kriesky said staff would take a serious look at how the curriculum would be structured. He said staff would most likely include the course as part of an interest survey students complete each year, which helps guide system officials as they construct the curriculum.

'Handcuffs' are off

Bingham, who owns a lumber company and a newspaper in Davidson County, has remained busy this session as of late, filing a total of 22 bills since the General Assembly convened last month.

Thirteen of Bingham's bills fall into the criminal justice and law enforcement arena, including four that strictly involve firearms.

"Some of these I've carried over for a couple of years," Bingham said. "I didn't file them because I didn't think I'd get them heard. I feel more comfortable now, especially with these gun bills.

"With some folks, the Second Amendment is not very popular. Rather than to stir up trouble, I fell back a little bit. This time, I feel like the handcuffs are removed, and I can breathe a little bit."

Bingham gained headlines across the state earlier this month when he filed a bill that would allow certified and trained school employees to carry firearms on school property.

The bill would permit school boards to hire "school safety marshals," who would have to meet a minimum level of firearms training in crisis situations.

In early February, Bingham filed Senate Bill 28, which would clearly make gun permit application information confidential and not public record. The bill was filed after a few newspapers across the nation published information obtained from gun permit records.

"Me being in the newspaper business and knowing what damage this can do to subscribers, I would definitely tell you that I would not put in the paper any gun permits or permitting (records)," said Bingham, who owns The Denton Orator. "I'm going to set my subscribers up for crime if I put in the paper that someone had 50 pistol permits. That would tell me that person has a large collection and would be a good target to hit."

Eddie Caldwell, executive vice president and general counsel of the N.C. Sheriffs' Association, said there are two groups of citizens "crying out" for legislation that would make gun permitting records confidential.

"Those who have guns are saying, 'We don't want thieves to know we have guns,'" Caldwell said. "The people that don't have guns are saying, 'We don't want the crooks to know we don't have guns.' There are folks on both sides of the equation that are asking to keep that information confidential."

Most of Bingham's bills are still in committees in the Senate.

One bill, which would prevent the release of personal information on service discharge documents, was approved by the Senate earlier this month and was received by the House last week.

Nash Dunn can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 227, or at nash.dunn@the-dispatch.com.

<p>A state bill filed by a locally elected senator this week would sanction Bible study classes at public high schools.</p><p>Sen. Stan Bingham, R-Davidson, says people should carefully read the bill before screaming "church and state" separation. A civil rights organization says religious topics are best left to parents.</p><p>Bingham, a Denton resident, filed Senate Bill 138 on Tuesday. It would give school systems the option to offer courses in biblical studies to high school students.</p><p>The classes would be electives for credit in Hebrew scriptures (Old Testament), the New Testament or a combination of the two, according to the bill.</p><p>"Most people, just like myself, would think you wouldn't dare touch an issue like this, because it's going to create problems with separation of church and state," Bingham said. "That's not the issue, though, and that has nothing to do with this. This is educational, and it doesn't mandate anything. It's an elective."</p><p>Some taxpayer-supported schools in other states do allow religious courses, raising concerns among civil libertarians about the constitutional separation of church and state.</p><p>"These types of courses are notoriously difficult to teach in a constitutional manner, which often puts educators who want to teach them properly in a very problematic situation," Sarah Preston, American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina's policy director, said in a statement Wednesday. "Classes that teach the Bible have to be conducted in a way that does not promote or disparage religion, or alienate students with different beliefs. But because religious belief is such a personal issue, we believe it's a topic best left to the students' parents and not government bureaucrats or school officials."</p><p>The proposed elective courses must follow federal and state law in maintaining "religious neutrality" and accommodating diverse religious views, traditions and perspectives of the students in the class, according to the bill. In addition, teachers wouldn't be allowed to endorse, favor or promote, or disfavor or show hostility toward any particular religion, nonreligious faith or religious perspective, the bill said.</p><p>Courses would include knowledge of biblical content, characters, poetry and narratives that are "prerequisites to understanding contemporary society and culture, including literature, art, music, mores, oratories and public policies, among other things, according to the bill.</p><p>Rick Kriesky, superintendent of Lexington City Schools, said a school he worked at in Tennessee offered a social studies class that served as a survey course for religious studies.</p><p>"It was very well-received by the student body," Kriesky said. "It was not focused on teaching any specific denomination or sect of religion, but rather it was a broad course that was intended to allow students to get an understanding of different religions worldwide."</p><p>If the bill was approved, Kriesky said staff would take a serious look at how the curriculum would be structured. He said staff would most likely include the course as part of an interest survey students complete each year, which helps guide system officials as they construct the curriculum.</p><p>'Handcuffs' are off</p><p>Bingham, who owns a lumber company and a newspaper in Davidson County, has remained busy this session as of late, filing a total of 22 bills since the General Assembly convened last month.</p><p>Thirteen of Bingham's bills fall into the criminal justice and law enforcement arena, including four that strictly involve firearms.</p><p>"Some of these I've carried over for a couple of years," Bingham said. "I didn't file them because I didn't think I'd get them heard. I feel more comfortable now, especially with these gun bills.</p><p>"With some folks, the Second Amendment is not very popular. Rather than to stir up trouble, I fell back a little bit. This time, I feel like the handcuffs are removed, and I can breathe a little bit."</p><p>Bingham gained headlines across the state earlier this month when he filed a bill that would allow certified and trained school employees to carry firearms on school property.</p><p>The bill would permit school boards to hire "school safety marshals," who would have to meet a minimum level of firearms training in crisis situations.</p><p>In early February, Bingham filed Senate Bill 28, which would clearly make gun permit application information confidential and not public record. The bill was filed after a few newspapers across the nation published information obtained from gun permit records.</p><p>"Me being in the newspaper business and knowing what damage this can do to subscribers, I would definitely tell you that I would not put in the paper any gun permits or permitting (records)," said Bingham, who owns The Denton Orator. "I'm going to set my subscribers up for crime if I put in the paper that someone had 50 pistol permits. That would tell me that person has a large collection and would be a good target to hit."</p><p>Eddie Caldwell, executive vice president and general counsel of the N.C. Sheriffs' Association, said there are two groups of citizens "crying out" for legislation that would make gun permitting records confidential.</p><p>"Those who have guns are saying, 'We don't want thieves to know we have guns,'" Caldwell said. "The people that don't have guns are saying, 'We don't want the crooks to know we don't have guns.' There are folks on both sides of the equation that are asking to keep that information confidential."</p><p>Most of Bingham's bills are still in committees in the Senate.</p><p>One bill, which would prevent the release of personal information on service discharge documents, was approved by the Senate earlier this month and was received by the House last week.</p><p>Nash Dunn can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 227, or at nash.dunn@the-dispatch.com.</p>